“The term Safe Harbor doesn’t pertain to storms the size of Hurricane Sandy,” says Captain John Konrad, who has experienced hurricanes first hand. “The safest place for a ship is out to sea and as far away from the storm as possible.”

Ships are built with hardened steel, but if left tied up to the dock, they can be easily damaged as waves push them against concrete pilings. If a ship were to break loose from the dock, it would turn into a floating wrecking ball.

For this reason, the United States Coast Guard recently closed most ports along the hurricane path and ordered all ships to leave port and head east at the best possible speed.